Monday, January 09, 2012

Getting Around Athens with Google Maps

The app consists of two main parts; a network map and a trip planner. The trip planner allows users to plan a trip using the city's public transit system. Users can set a starting point, destination and the time of journey and get detailed step-by-step transit directions. The route of the journey is also displayed on a Google Map.

The network map allows the user to view all of Athens' public transit lines. Estimated live departure times for any stop on the network can be viewed by clicking on the station name in the map sidebar. The map itself includes a clever bounding box function that ensures that the available transit lines displayed in the sidebar always reflect the lines available in the current map view.

To use the calculator, simply right-click on the map to specify your starting and destination address or use the input fields in the left hand side menu. The route of your journey will then be displayed on the map and the estimated taxi charge is displayed in the map sidebar.

The costs are calculated according to the most up to date prices and include a full itemisation of charges you can expect from your taxi trip. The charges also include the 11% VAT introduced for Athens' taxi services.